The present application is based on and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application Hei 11-153929 filed Jun. 1, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an AC generator for a vehicle, and particularly to a rectifier arrangement of an AC generator.
2. Description of the-Related Art
As disclosed in JP-A-9-19119, a rectifier unit is comprised of a plurality of pairs of positive and negative diodes which are respectively welded to positive and negative heat sinks, a circuit board having a plurality of insert terminals to which output lead wires extend to be welded thereto, a terminal member having a plurality of metal terminals which connect the diodes to form a rectifying bridge circuit, an insulator disposed between the heat sinks, and a DC output terminal. The output lead wires have a round cross section, and the heat sinks are made of aluminum-based alloy.
The circuit board is fixed by screws to connect the metal terminal of the terminal member to the insert terminal of the circuit board.
Thus, two connection steps, a step of connecting the output lead wires and the circuit board and a step of fixing the circuit board to the terminal member, are necessary to connect the output lead wires and the diodes. Since the. output lead wire has a round cross section, it is difficult to support the rectifier unit by itself during the manufacturing steps. This necessitates additional supporting steps or tools.
A main object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive and easy-manufactured AC generator for a vehicle.
In the AC generator according to a main feature of the invention, lead wires of a stator winding have a generally rectangular cross section with longer sides extending in parallel to a radial direction of said rotor, and a terminal member of a rectifier unit has a plurality of metal terminals for connecting rectifier elements to provide a structure for provisionally holding the rectifier unit only by said lead wires.
The metal terminals are preferably disposed at circumference of heat sinks of the rectifier unit in an arc range xcex8 that is larger than 180xc2x0. The terminal member may include a plurality of resin guide members having axially extending rectangular holes at the outer peripheral portion of the heat sink to guide the lead wires therein, and the metal terminals may include U-shaped terminal portions respectively disposed at the plurality of guide members to connect the lead wires.
The heat sinks may include a pair of arc-shaped aluminum alloy members having a plurality of recesses at circumference of heat sinks, and the metal terminals comprise U-shaped terminal portions respectively disposed in the plurality of recesses.